Amanatidis quick to avert title talk

The champions of four years ago make their bow at UEFA EURO 2008™ against Sweden but talk of a title defence does not sit comfortably with one member of the Greece team.

One game at a time
Winger Giannis Amanatidis declared: "Who said anything about us being here to defend our title? The tournament hasn't even started yet for us. First of all, it's great to be here. We take one thing at a time. First match, then second match and so on." The Eintracht Frankfurt captain expects the encounter with Sweden at Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim to be decided on small details. "Like every other team in the finals, Sweden deserve to be here, as they performed very well in the qualifiers. They are strong and very good at set-pieces. We don't obsess with their tactics, we don't focus on their star players, we are only interested in what we do on the pitch. I expect a tough encounter, between two teams that rely mainly on strength," he said. 

Twin qualities
According to the 26-year-old, the balance could go in favour of Greece if "we put to good use our hard work and determination - exactly the qualities that got us here in the first place. We are definitely ready and we can't wait for the competition to start." For coach Otto Rehhagel, the biggest decision to be made concerns who will fill the forward positions against the Swedes, and Amanatidis added: "Our coach will decide the formation and I hope that I will get to play - and hopefully score. The atmosphere in the squad is excellent and I am very excited to be a member of the team, to be among these guys. However we don't need to make comparisons with the team of 2004. Don't forget that no team has ever managed to win back-to-back titles and that speaks volumes about the difficulty of our task."

'Football celebration'
Next to him, another German-based performer, Fanis Gekas, shared his excitement. "It's a unique experience for me," said the Bayer 04 Leverkusen forward, who like Amanatidis was not part of the trophy-winning team four years ago. "It's a celebration of football, it's something different compared with whatever you get to experience with your club. I want to enjoy every minute of it." Gekas who is vying for one of the striking positions with Dimitris Salpingidis, added: "Everybody in the squad is in fine shape, that's the most important thing and hopefully we will bring that out on the pitch. I am always optimistic about myself and I believe in my team's chances. Otherwise I wouldn't play football."